1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to tools in general and, more particularly, to caulking forming tools designed to tool applied caulking to a uniform thickness and smoothness, free of air pockets.
2. Description of the Background Art
Presently, caulking is used throughout the construction industry to seal expansion and contraction joints always prevalent throughout the structure under construction. Caulking not only provides a seal to weatherproof the joint, but also prevents insects and the like from entering the structure. Also, when properly tooled, caulking provides an esthetically pleasing appearance to the building.
Typical sealing joints may range from one-quarter inch to over six inches in width, with the optimum distance being generally around one-half inch. Because of the surprising amount of movement in many of the caulked joints, the caulking must be resilient and, hence, capable of stretching or contracting.
Two of the more critical concerns in properly sealing a joint with caulking are providing a continuous bonding of the caulking with both sides of the joint and maintaining a predetermined and uniform caulking depth. The first concern is obvious inasmuch as a properly sealed joint is always desirable. The second concern of maintaining a predetermined and uniform caulking depth may not be as obvious but is just as important as excessively deep caulking will have less resiliency and, hence, may exceed the bond strength between the caulking and the joint wall. Indeed, generally accepted principles concerning caulking depth typically require that the depth of the caulking not exceed five-eighths of an inch or one-half of the caulking's width, whichever is less. Two procedures are used to insure proper caulking depth. First, prior to caulking the joint, a foam "backer rod" is compressed and inserted into the joint along its entire length. The backer rod is compressed into the joint to a uniform depth consistent with the caulking widthdepth ratio discussed above. After positioning the backer rod, uncured caulking is "shot" into the joint with a caulking gun or the like. It is noted that the backer rod not only insures a uniform and proper depth of the joint but also provides, under certain circumstances, necessary support for the caulking until it cures.
The second procedure is referred to as "tooling the caulking". After shooting the caulking into the joint, the exposed surface is lumpy and irregular. The tooling results in a number of necessary improvements. It forces the caulking to completely fill the joint by pushing it against the backer rod on the bottom and against the sides thereby insuring bonding to both sides while removing any air pockets. As the caulking is tooled flush with the top edges of the joint, the critical uniform depth of the caulking is attained. Furthermore, the tooling produces an esthetically pleasing finish.
While many specialized tools exist for the mixing, handling and shooting of the caulking, virtually no specialized tools exist on the market for the tooling procedure. Furthermore, none of the devices disclosed in the patents located during the patentability search (as identified in the Information Disclosure Statement filed herewith) were materially relevant to this invention.
Indeed, the only type of caulking tools commonly in use are "pointing irons" which were originally designed for use in masonry work. These pointing irons typically comprise an individual blade of a certain width, having a handle attached thereto. Obviously, a particular pointing iron is useful for caulking only one joint of a particular width. Consequently, the tradesman tooling the caulking must necessarily have a large number of pointing irons in order to properly caulk joints of various widths. The requirement of having on hand a large number of pointing irons increases the likelihood of inadvertently losing one, thereby requiring the tradesman to replace it. Each pointing iron may range in price from six dollars to nine dollars or more. This is assuming, of course, that all the pointing irons having blades of a desired width can be purchased. Those which cannot be purchased require that the tradesman reduce the width of an oversized blade by grinding or other technique.
Finally, instead of purchasing a large number of pointing irons, some tradesmen resort to using common kitchen flatware such as knives and spoons. Of course, since knives and spoons have only a predetermined width, the tradesman must individually grind or otherwise reduce the width of the knife or spoon and flatten the tips of them. Moreover, even if the tradesman does alter a large number of knives or spoons to the different required widths needed by him during the caulking process, it is quite apparent each knife or spoon looks substantial like another precluding the tradesman from quickly distinguishing the implement having the desired configuration. Instead, the tradesman must sort through the collection of knives and spoons until he finds one of an appropriate width. Still further, it is unreasonable to expect that caulking tools obtained by reforming household flatware will have the durability to last in a commercial construction setting.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a method which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art methods and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the caulking forming tool art.
Another object of this invention is to provide a caulking forming tool including a collection of different widths of caulking blades.
Another object of this invention is to provide a caulking forming tool including a collection of various widths of blades fastened together thereby preventing inadvertent loss or separation of the blades.
Another object of this invention is to provide a caulking forming tool including a collection of various width blades with means for securing the blades in order based upon the width of the blades.
Another object of this invention is to provide a caulking forming tool which is compact, light-weight, sturdy and inexpensive including a collection of different width blades.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure contained herein and in the above identified patents, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.